We Need To Talk: ARC Hoarding and Distribution, The Problems, Consumerism & Privilege in the Book Community + What We Can Do

Hey, it’s ya girl Taasia, and I’m here to make another discussion based on feelings, Twitter drama and (maybe, but hopefully not) stir up some sort of controversy!

What’s new, why does this lowkey sound like my life yikes.

So, inspired by some fairly late Twitter drama surrounding ARCs, (basically another Tuesday night on Book Twitter, because so much drama happens over there) and by May’s Tweet. Their tweet pushed me to actually considering publishing this post, because I was so nervous to post this post.

Therefore, after forever, I decided to finally talk about my vented-up with ARC hoarding (especially regarding diverse ARCs), my problems and what we can do to combat the issue.

I understand that all of you are doing your best to read your ARCs, but I just want to point this out because I’ve noticed and heard some stories of how some people are doing this and the consequences of this, and to just talk about the issues behind it.

ARC Hoarding

For me, ARC hoarding is basically when people take or claim large amounts of ARCs with little to no intention of actually reading them or aim to see. This is especially true for people who only take these ARCs to claim for their collection or have a lot of ARCs.

Obviously, it’s okay if you’re doing your best to get to your ARCs, because we’re all humans and have schedules and commitments and life stuff, and that is absolutely normal! That also applies to if you have every intention of getting to your ARCs, you just can’t sometimes, and that’s okay. But there’s a clear difference between trying to get through every ARC you have and hoarding excessive amounts of ARCs, especially if they have some form (or in some cases, forms) of diverse rep, and … you just don’t care.

Though ARC hoarding is something I find is mostly on Booktube, specifically larger Booktube Channels, it is still prevalent (and becoming increasingly so) on other platforms, such as Bookstagram.

From a publishing point of view, this makes sense, especially since they have larger viewerships. This is something highly prevalent especially amongst US influencers, who have the means to receive large amounts of ARCs.

So why is this a problem?

Since many of these larger influencers are adult cis white and/or straight (etc.) this means that they often receive ARCs surrounding marginalized characters, rather than the influencers that can quite honestly give a solid, reliable opinion about the representation and continue to boost it, not to those who cannot do that.

Additionally, these top influencers are either a) unable to get to these books, b) most likely have little to no interest in the actual book themselves and let it sit on their TBR pile rather than pass it on to other people who need it, and c) most of them, truly do not give a rat’s ass about it.

And most (to my immense frustration) of the time, many of these top influencers rarely, if ever, acknowledge the huge amount of privilege that they have by being able to receive this much from publishers. Seeing these bigger influencers request and receive books with for instance, diversity they don’t care about (e.g people of colour, queer rep, disabled rep, neurodiversity, trauma etc.), and hoarding it is with no intention of reading it is … a unique kind of pain, especially when smaller, teen and/or OV readers would be scrambling and begging to have those ARCs.

And it’s not that particular group of influencers, I’m talking about, either. There are a lot of reviewers who request ARCs about characters that they cannot personally identify with, and that really, truly pisses me off.

ARC hoarding also preaches the standard of having an extensive collection of books in order to be considered a valid reader. Many of us, knowingly or unknowingly, contribute to this culture that you must have an extensive book collection in order to be considered a valid reader. I know that I was influenced by this culture and tried to buy as many books as I could. So if you are contributing to something that makes readers question their validity as a reader, this is where it becomes a problem. That is what upsets me, not the size of your book collections (you do you, sis).

But honestly, ask yourself: what does this tell your audience?

Additionally, this, therefore, adds to the already extremely consumerist culture of the book community. I’ve heard stories that a smaller Booktuber (I love bloggers and blogs, but I feel that Booktube examples are more relevant in this case) exclusively ate ramen noodles for lunch and dinner to be able to afford 5 hardcover books a week because it was so expensive.

That, my friends, is the example that best personifies my point.

And going along with that point, books are generally really expensive, especially hardcover books. I’m not sure how much a normal hardcover in the States costs, but without Book Depository and my member discount at Kinokuniya Singapore, I would be officially broke. I’ve seen fantasy hardcovers being sold for 40 Singapore Dollars (SGD) per piece, which equates to 29.49 USD, which is beyond ridiculous for one book.

What Can We Do?

So we’ve (hopefully) acknowledged there’s a problem.

But what can we do?

Regarding diverse ARCs, I think the biggest thing that we as a community can do is to continue to boost marginalized influencers and refer publishers and other members of the community to the reviewers/influencers who CAN comment on the specific representation in books.

It may be hard for some of you, but that will involve not requesting books with marginalizations you can’t personally identify with.

The horror. I cannot begin to imagine 🙄

I know, I know. Sure, you want to read that ARC. It’s going to be hard to wait, let’s be real. But when you’re hauling that ARC with the marginalization you can’t personally identify with, especially when you have little to no intention to read it, how are you going to make that marginalized, (often teen) reviewer who can identify it feel?

Another hot take: as much as it hurts, it isn’t always feasible to ship ARCs to international reviewers, but is it so hard to ship ARCs to marginalized reviewers within the USA or your own country? I know so many marginalized reviewers within the USA, teens especially, that would die for a chance of getting a particular diverse ARC that they personally identify with. I really hope that all types of influencers, especially smaller influencers can be recognized, not just the bigger influencers that we as a community are all too familiar with.

Something really, really important that we can do it to actually talk about the problem. Quite honestly, another major reason why I’m terrified to post this and was so close to scrapping this post altogether was that this topic felt so taboo. I personally feel that a lot of this was because no one ever talked about it, and I felt (not gonna lie, still feel) that I’ll be pissing a lot of people off. But ya know what? That’s fine with me now.

This is also going to be another thing targeted towards people with a lot of ARCs: donate ARCs that you don’t want to keep/have no time to read etc. to the Flapping Pages program by Kaleena @ Reader Voracious. Honestly, Kaleena is doing the Lord’s work. She is constantly so supportive of international bloggers and she is such a kind soul with so many helpful posts! She is also currently running a weekly series revolving about readers and reading around the globe and the different levels of privilege. Seriously. Go check her blog out now.

Resources:

These resources are going to be about lists/directories/posts about marginalized bloggers, because what better time than to boost my fellow marginalized bloggers? If there is some sort of post/page that is about marginalized bloggers that isn’t already here, please let me know! I would be delighted to have your post here too!

Honestly, I think that we all truly need to do better. And I’m not just talking about the ARC hoarders, either. I’m talking about everyone, because a talk on this rising issue is extremely needed (and appreciated).

I feel like no one talks about it, and with ARCs and extensive book collecting being seen as holy grails and the norm in the book community. Because of that, no one talks about the extents that it can reach and how that can be problematic, for example with excessively hauling, and the eventual hoarding of ARCs.

So we really, really need to start talking about this. And there is frankly no better time than now.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you think this is a problem or do you think it’s just me? (No shade, just curious). What do you think we, as a community, and as individuals, can do? I would love to know your takes on this.

28 thoughts on “We Need To Talk: ARC Hoarding and Distribution, The Problems, Consumerism & Privilege in the Book Community + What We Can Do”

Hoohoo 🙂
I definitely agree with you! And I’m definitely an outsider looking in because I’m an international blogger and usually don’t get many ARCs, except from NetGalley. And sometimes, even though I’d like to read the book, I don’t request it because I would feel bad if I got it but not someone who is represented by it. I get ARCs at fairs (like YALC) and then give them on to friends, except I loved them a lot and got them signed and everything. And I believe it would be great for publishers to not only send books to people who can make good advertising, but also to those represented in the book. Because I think their opinion is as important, if not even more important.
Great post!
Kat

Kat, I definitely relate on how it feels like you’re an outsider looking in. I just really feel sad when publishers ignore OV readers that would be able to provide a more nuanced review and feedback for that book! I absolutely agree with what you said overall, and thank you for your kind words! Happy reading :))

This is honestly one of the best and most relevant posts I’ve ever read – thank you so much for writing it.
I cannot even express how much it annoys me that booktubers get so many ARCs – and the booktubers are white or the book doesn’t rep them in any way – and they just hoard them, never reading them. And honestly, they could receive this unsolicited so the blame also falls to the publishers – stop sending out every book to popular YouTubers when people who would love to read a book that represents them could boost the book!!
I think also – whilst it’s hard to look past my frustration at anger at people not treasuring their ARCs and publisher disregarding marginalised bloggers – that the fact is ARCs are marketing tools! Obviously, it’s a waste of money (ARCs are expensive to print) to send SO many books to booktubers that they’re never going to read when a smaller content creator could boost the book. But if the booktuber requests it/ or has a very high chance of reading it – then I think it’s understandable (not that I necessarily agree with it) why publishers would send the book (even with rare rep/or rep that doesn’t apply to the recipient and could go to a marginalised blogger to give an ownvoices review) to a bigger influencer because that’s what they are intended for! And i wouldn’t really demand publishers to never send ARCs to creators it doesn’t represent because they still have to keep in mind that the author needs to earn money and bigger creators can help more with sales (generally and if they read it) What I do wish though, and what I think is more realistic, is that publishers are A LOT MORE PICKY WITH WHAT THEY SEND OUT TO BOOKTUBERS because they hardly read anything they’re sent!!! so can publishers just send big booktubers things they’re pretty sure they’ll read instead of every smol diverse book under the sun that could go to someone else who’ll love and read it!! that’s what needs to improve, and i really hope this sending so many unsolicited proofs to uninterested influencers will stop.
And about your point that we shouldn’t request books that don’t represent us – i have thoughts!
I think the last year, but mostly 2017, I was requesting lots of ARCs I wasn’t interested in because 1) I wanted more books because I was materialistic and felt i needed to meet a certain standard 2) i was kinda obsessed with getting book mail and new books (since im like a broke teen book blogger who doesn’t buy many books) because the joy of getting “free” books was fantastic. obviously, this was very unhealthy as 1) i wasn’t excited for the book just the prospect of being sent something and 2) i have a lot of unread ARCs and 3) and some of the ones that were diverse could’ve gone to readers that were #ownvoices for the books. So it was needless to say, bad.
So towards the end of 2018 to now, I’ve become a lot more picky with what I request – choosing books that interest me or represent me or both. This is probably going to sound snobbish but if i’ve worked hard enough to get a certain amount of numbers in my stats and therefore the publisher sends me a book that i’m excited for – doesn’t necessarily rep me – i think i should be allowed to do that. i step away from a second to this, and say, yeah i get it…a recent experience I’ve had with a certain book with Muslim representation i crave and need has come out and so many non-muslims are reading the book and i’m a Muslim and i haven’t got to read it!! and i’m so annoyed and frustrated that ownvoices readers are NOT PRIORITISED BY PUBLISHERS!! and then i take another step back, and remember that ARCs are meant to create buzz and generate sales, that bigger influencers (with the knowledge they are very likely to read the book) are always going to be prioritised and i don’t think that’s something to change – that’s what ARCs are for. just because a book rep doesn’t mean you’re entitled to that ARC! it’s the harsh truth. (but then i hate this argument myself because why are white influencers more popular and therefore bigger influencers getting more ARCs?? because they’re privileged and therefore had an easier time getting more subscribers for example!! so that’s a complex argument in itself??) when publishers send them.
i pose the question, Why are ARCs the only way to get books into ownvoices readers hands?? What about when the book is published – why can’t there be programs to get those books to those readers via donations and such.
I know this sounds weird but like,,, what if there are only two ownvoices reviewers for a certain book that ACTUALLY request the book…what happens to the rest of the ARCs printed? what does this mean? publishers think that no one wants this book as no one’s requesting it?? idk this one’s just a random thought and not an actual argument i have about this lols.
i contradict myself with everything in this so IGNORE EVERYTHING WRITE ABOVE THIS AND I LITERALLY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAY!! but here’s the one bit i slightly disagree with, genuinely, without contradiction myself and agreeing with you in the end, haha.
“It’s going to be hard to wait, let’s be real. ” Yeah, it’s going to be hard to wait for the book to come out – but you should be patient and let ownvoices readers review and read the book and get the ARCs early – and since the book doesn’t represent you, wait until publication and buy it/borrow it from the library to read it.
What if you can’t? What if your library doesn’t have the book that you’re excited about but doesn’t represent you? What if you’re too broke to purchase the book. How do I get that book I’m really excited for? What if there’s just simply no way of me getting that book I was anticipating. but could’ve got (and been VERY happy about!) via the publishers? Does this bit sound snobbish but I think you really just disregarded the fact that ARCS are sometimes the only way some reviewers can acquire books. and to say that they can’t request a book due to certain reasons – is okay sometimes if the book blogger is requesting LOADS of books and not even taking into consideration its diversity. but if a broke teen book blogger requests an ARC that they’re excited for and they have full intentions of reading it and have no other way of getting the book even after publication – i ask, what about them? what about…me? and keep in mind, i can get many YA books from my library. but sometimes i can’ t get that book and i deffo can’t afford it – am i…allowed to request the ARC? this probably sounds snobbish and i want to delete myself and this comment!!

Thank you so much for your comment and your kind words, Ilsa! Sorry it took me this long to get to it, haha. I really tried my best with this post, but I recognize it is not fully objective. Plenty of bigger influencers get lots of unsolicited books and I didn’t consider that! About your point on sending books to booktubers who genuinely want to read it – I think that point is fair too. It’s just that a lot of my frustration comes from bigger influencers who hoard ARCs with very little to no intention of reading them. I just wish that publishers would pay more attention to marginalized creators, which they rarely do. I get that authors and publishers need to benefit from sales and ads from bigger influencers, because in the end, publishing is a business. i know there are quite a few influencers who don’t love being sent unsolicited copies, as they feel that it can go to another reader or person (which it absolutely can).
About my point about not requesting books that don’t specifically represent us – I’m sorry if that comment hurt you. I really did not mean it to, and I think what you are saying is absolutely valid and I support that 100%! I suppose I was feeling really frustrated, and like I said earlier, I was not being objective.
I think my main points are that we need to at least talk about this and that we as a community need to do more to get both ARCs, and like you said, finished copies, into OV/marginalized readers hands. And yeah, I completely get you on the point on not being able to acquire, for example, anticipated releases and such, being a broke teen student myself. I’m surprised that I did not look at that part of the argument and I lowkey want to cancel myself :((( I feel really hypocritical and terrible, but thank you for bringing up all your 1000% valid points because it’s important that we discuss both sides of this truly nuanced issue (can we call it that?) Again, I fully take responsibility and apologise of any hurt I have caused you and anyone else reading this post, because that was not my intention. And please don’t delete yourself and this comment, because it is needed! Love you ❤

1) i realise how like mean i was in my original comment and i’m really sorry! you’re literally the kindest soul alive and i love you for it ❤ like pls don't cancel yourself because your posts are so amazing and so are you hfdshgfds ❤
2) yeah I agree. I WISH publishers would prioritize marginalized readers and so many unsolicited diverse ARCs were being sent out to people who will never read them. it's so frustrating!!
3) I think ARCs are a great way to get own voices stories into own voices readers hands and even though publishing is a business, marginalized voices are so talked over in this community, we really need to favor them and prioritize their reviews and thoughts.

ilsa, please don’t worry about it! you did bring up some valid points that i completely disregarded. because even though i’m an international reader, i’m generally quite privileged and i’m really grateful for that privilege ❤ you are the sweetest omg i am crying over your kindness 🥰🥰

i wish that publishers would have maybe some sort of directory that they could distribute ARCs to OV readers, and it’s really sad that they send books to readers who would never get to them! also when you consider that people are focusing more on OV readers and that OV readers’ reviews would get more boosted than a quick mention in a bigger influencers post/video, which really sucks :((

and i just reread your first comment and i think that distributing finished copies is a GENIUS idea, i can’t believe no one really thought about that. forever boosting this, hopefully someone will get on it ❤

the community really needs to get better at boosting OV readers though. i myself also can do a lot better, and i’m trying to find ways to do that even though i have a small lil platform!

even though publishers will still send books to some bigger influencers, i wish that the distribution of diverse books to OV readers and bigger influencers become more even! (does this even make sense).

sorry for being so long-winded ahaha, happiest of reading and have an amazing day ❤

First I want to commend you for your braveness in posting this discussion, Taasia! I can only imagine how nervous you’ve been about it, but this is definitely a topic that I think about a LOT and quite frankly we need to get loud about it! Honestly the whole #arcsfortrade thing rubs me the heckin wrong way and is mainly why I started Flapping Pages – I didn’t like seeing people swapping unicorn arcs. I feel like the whole idea of unicorns, DISO, and hoarding when it comes to physical arcs really exacerbates the whole issue; it’s kind of a result of publishing. And trading would be fine if I saw those diverse reads going to an OV reviewer, but that is almost never the case! It seems to always be privileged white US bloggers trading with one another to one-up their unicorn arc collection.
“There are a lot of reviewers who request ARCs about characters that they cannot personally identify with, and that really, truly pisses me off.”
I definitely understand your frustration here, especially when it comes to ARC hoarders. For me personally I am really careful about the NG/Edelweiss requests that I make, only requesting the ones that I am truly interested in reading because I don’t want to take away an opportunity for an OV reader. The bummer is that I can’t pass along an eARC when I am finished, which I would certainly prefer to do. Honestly for the last few weeks I have been thinking heavily about this — do I request physical arcs of these books I want to read so that I can pass them along when I am finished? Would that just be me being a White Savior and inserting myself where I don’t belong? How can I best be an ally to marginalized groups?
Thank you so much for your kind words about me and the work I’m doing over on my blog, it means a lot to me. I will always aim to use my privilege to boost the voices of marginalized readers and I really want to see change. I never presume to have all the answers to let me know how I can help!

Kaleena, I absolutely understand where you’re coming from! Thank you for being such a great ally to us marginalized readers, and for creating Flapping Pages. I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks this topic is a very real issue in the community, as much as I love the community.

YES to everything about your thoughts on #arcsfortrade! It makes me really uncomfortable, and while I get that U.S readers can generally only pay for American shipping, it still stings. It really sucks that OV readers aren’t getting as much chance to read ARCs where they can comment on specific rep.

You bring up a really great point about e-Arcs, and not being able to pass that along. That was something that I personally didn’t really think about, and a really great question, quite honestly.

And again, thank YOU for all your support and work to help out marginalized and/or international book bloggers! I think what you’re doing is fantastic and that you should keep up with it.

I’ve seen some of the bookish Twitter drama about this (though honestly you’re right, when is there ever *not* bookish Twitter drama going on), but being fairly new to the bookish community I had no idea of the extent of this problem.
the privilege and consumerism and (sometimes) ignorance behind ARC hoarding is astounding and infuriating. until recently it never even crossed my mind that the off chance I was approved for an ARC could mean an OV reader wouldn’t be, but now that I’m aware it does feel like I’m hyperaware – and it’s so frustrating that those who *are* aware seem to bear the burden of doing what they can to correct the problem at personal cost, whether that’s consciously passing on an ARC they want to read, or paying shipping for Flapping Pages or another reviewer, while reviewers with larger platforms and more opportunities don’t seem to lift a finger.
it’s a systemic problem for sure, and a difficult one to correct, but it’s absolutely still important for each of us to do what we can. thank you so much for sharing this.

The first paragraph is a complete mood to be honest! But on a more serious note, I COMPLETELY agree with your frustration on the ignorance, privilege and consumerism because it’s absolutely true. It’s completely unfair that the people who are aware of this problem have to deal with this by using their own hard-earned money, which I am so, so sorry you have to do 😦 I have never seen a single, booktube source for example, talk about their problem and just happily add to their huge mountain of ARCs. Honestly, I didn’t post this because I was scared I was going to come across as whiny and get all the hate, so it’s super relieving that I have gotten so much agreement! This problem is 100% a super systematic issue and also a publisher-based issue too. I’m glad I’ve done what I can, and I’m sad that it’s like this.

Aaah this post is so need Taasia and I’m so glad you posted it, honestly from my perspective I both have privilege but also don’t. I’m also an International book blogger only I live in the UK, therefore I do have the privilege of having access to libraries, bookstores and a higher chance I suppose of being accepted for ARCs (that’d be if I even requested them…which I don’t because I really can’t get along with ebooks)

I’m also lucky enough that books don’t cost a lot here, whilst yes they’re still expensive I prefer paperbacks which are cheaper than the hardback counterparts. The whole hoarding ARCs for sure needs to stop, or at least needs to be talked about more, so that we as a community can do our best to get the diverse ARCs into the hands of own voice reviewers.

I adore KAL with my whole heart, and when/if I ever get any physical ARCs I’m donating them to the Flapping Pages program as soon as I’ve read them. In general though, I tend to stick around the backlist books more so than ARCs but I’ll do what I can to boost marginalized voices and help out my fellow International bloggers however I’m able.

Clo, you’re so sweet! I’m glad that you liked this post! I can see your point about both having privilege and not, which is exactly my position here.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have gone to the UK and books there are so much more affordable there, compared to Singapore, and it makes me so so happy!

Singapore is a country with a really great library system and has much more accessibility than other Southeast Asian countries, but when compared to the USA for instance, has significantly less privilege in that area for sure. I don’t want to come across as being ungrateful, but yeah, IMO that’s how things are.

I agree with your comment on ARC hoarding! The very least we need to do is talk about it, because it’s overdue, tbh. With publishing this post, my hopes are that it would encourage a healthy, (at least somewhat) well-rounded discussion on the topic.

Kal is really a blessing! I think what she’s doing is great, and I hope her programs get as much notice as possible, because they’re really working miracles here! I think it’s really cool that you mostly read backlist books! I feel that most people, myself included, read mostly new releases/ARCs, so it feels a little refreshing! Just my two cents ahaha ❤ Thank you for doing your best to help the intl blogging community, your work is really appreciated :))) Happy reading, Clo!

Yessss!! Once I saw a white bookstagrammer who had a manuscript of Girls of Paper and Fire and then they ALSO received an arc and they were like “wow I don’t really know what it’s about!!!” which made me SO salty because I know there were so many people who could’ve appreciated it more?? I mean, thank god I have an amazing friend who sent a copy of it, but otherwise the publisher wouldn’t have sent it to me. It’s really unfair and I *get* that white people with super high stats can get diverse arcs, but especially when they’re sent UNSOLICITED that makes me really upset.

UGH I cannot imagine the saltiness you must’ve felt, I would’ve been really pissed off and upset too! I saw SO MANY OV reviewers drooling over an opportunity for an ARC and not getting it, which is a sadly special type of torment in a way, if you get my drift. I’m so glad you were able to get an arc of GOPAF, it was so good! I absolutely agree with the unsolicited part, because even though ARCs cost money, there are so many people who would appreciate diverse ARCs more than the big ciswhitehetallo etc. influencers out there. I hope we can make a difference and try to change the system.

Taasia, your post made me reflect so muchhhh. Thing is: I still don’t know much about ARCs and, frankly, I don’t worry so much about it. However, for a long time I saw ARCs as one of those things that only people who lived in the US could get their hands in, mostly because they were the only ones I saw showing ARCs. I think, in a lot of ways, this has a lot to do with what you mentioned: international bloggers have so little access to these things! But when they do, they make sure to let people know about it. Most of the international bloggers I follow are the ones who are so enthusiastic about new releases, especialy the ones from marginalized authors, and make me want to read them – even me, the one who never keeps up with these things! So I do think your concern is absolutely and 100% valid, because at the end of the day, people who are putting the most effort into spreading the word about these books are the ones getting the last recognition.
Now that I’ve read your post, I can remember a lot of BookTubers I follow, showing their ARC shelves, when I had never seen them talking about ARCs before. As you mentioned, not everyone will have time to get to them, but that’s why posts like yours are important: because you also made sure to add resources and clarify what these people can do about the matter.
Honestly, I really wish more and more people would get to reflect on this. Even though, as I mentioned, I am not that into the whole ARC conversation – my blog is way too small yet for me to even think about it -, I still feel like I learned a lot through it. So, great job, truly! 💛

I’m glad you got something out of this post, Lais! I absolutely agree with your perception of ARCs – it seems like only US influencers get them, and the international influencers don’t stand a chance unless they’re very, very popular.
It’s very common for the booktubers I watch (who happen to have a fairly big audience and are normally American-based) to have ARC shelf tours, like I said. While it’s easy to get frustrated about the problem, we also have to recognize that big bloggers/booktubers are human and can only read so much, so hopefully these resources might help?
My blog is pretty small too, but I think what sparked this was because of Twitter and my active watching/reading of blogs and booktube channels. I’m glad that I helped, and thank you for your kind words! They mean a lot 💛💛

This is such a great post! It’s something that definitely needs to be talked about. I was recently turned down for an arc of a big Feb release (which like you mentioned it’s partly a business decision for the publisher because the bigger the platform the bigger the reach) but like I saw so many big booktubers/bloggers etc get it and not mention it’s f/f like???

Thank you! I never really saw anything anywhere about this, so I just wanted to give my two cents, I suppose? I mean, I understand the business decision, but at least mention it’s f/f … 😦 That majorly sucks

This post is SO INCREDIBLY VALID thank you for talking about this! I think we as a community need to be better about arcs in general, and if we do receive arcs that feature characters or are written by authors not within their marginalization(s), we should – at the very least! – be attempt to place in arc in the hands of influencers who are of those marginalization(s). (“Influencers” referring to booktubers, book bloggers, bookstagrammers, etc.) And the ARC hoarding you talked about? Should NOT be happening! 😠
P.S. I love your blog! Your aesthetic is so on point, and your header images are gorgeous!

Surina, I’m glad you enjoyed this discussion! I understand, especially with foresight and a clearer mind, that this isn’t always feasible, but at the very least we need to uplift & boost marginalized voices constantly in the community! I really wish ARC hoarding isn’t happening, but unfortunately it does, especially on Bookstagram ☹

And OMG thank you so much?? I don’t love love love my aesthetic & wouldn’t consider myself someone particularly gifted with graphics, so that means so much 😭💗 thank you for your kind words 💖